2024-10-07 08:53:04
It’s Vladimir Putin’s birthday today – congratulations began at midnight. Meanwhile, a well-known Putin critic was killed. All information in the news blog.
7.05 a.m.: According to the Defense Ministry, Russian air defense intercepted 21 Ukrainian drones during the night. Twelve were destroyed over Crimea and six over the Russian border region of Kursk, the ministry said on Telegram. The rest was started in the Russian oblasts of Belgorod, Bryansk and Voronezh.
6:52 a.m.: Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin was killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine. The 42-year-old fought alongside the Ukrainian armed forces against Russian troops. A friend shared this on Sunday. Accordingly, Dadin died on Saturday. Several Russian media outlets are also reporting on this. There was initially no confirmation from Kyiv.
Exiled former Russian MP Ilya Ponomarev wrote on Facebook about Dadin’s death: He was a “fearless and determined fighter” who went to the front to fight “Putinism.”
Dadin was sentenced to almost three years in prison in Russia in 2015 for several unauthorized protests against Putin. He was tortured during his imprisonment, as evidenced by letters to his wife from that time. He later described his experiences in a book. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Dadin joined the Russian Volunteer Corps fighting on the side of Ukraine.
4.30 a.m.: “God save the Tsar!”: With these words, the ultranationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his 72nd birthday on Monday. The congratulations, which Dugin published a few minutes after midnight on the short message service Telegram, reflect the adoration that Putin enjoys among parts of the Russian population. The 62-year-old Dugin is considered an ardent supporter of a new Russian empire that would include Ukraine in addition to the Russian-speaking regions. Putin has been Russian president for almost 25 years.
Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Russian republic of Chechnya and self-proclaimed “foot soldier” of Putin, also congratulated the president on Telegram. “Today is the birthday of our national leader,” Kadyrov wrote at midnight. “This is a great day for our entire fatherland.”
Putin won a landslide victory unprecedented since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the March 2022 elections, a few weeks after the start of the war in Ukraine. His new six-year term, if he completes it, would make him the longest-serving Russian head of state in over 200 years.
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8:10 p.m.: The Netherlands has announced investments of 400 million euros in joint development of drones with Ukraine. Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said during a visit to Kiev that was announced at short notice that it was about attack drones, defense drones and surveillance drones. Ukraine also needs the flying objects for attacks against military facilities. About half of the money should be invested in the Netherlands, the other half in Ukraine and other countries.
7:55 p.m.: Ukrainian troops have captured a Russian soldier in the east who is said to have been involved in the shooting of Ukrainian prisoners of war. As Ukrainian media reported, three Ukrainian soldiers surrendered and surrendered during fighting in the Donetsk region at the beginning of September. They were immediately shot by Russian soldiers, but this act was observed and filmed by a drone. The perpetrators are clearly visible on the video.
Now one of these Russian soldiers has fallen into Ukrainian captivity. During his interrogation, he reported on repeated executions of Ukrainian soldiers by his compatriots. However, Russian soldiers would also be executed by their own troops if they refused to take part in mass attacks against Ukrainian positions.